Hamilton podium drought
Lewis Hamilton currently has the longest F1 podium drought of his career.
The seven-time world champion has not appeared on the podium since the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix since he was still at Mercedes.
Hamilton has finished fourth for Ferrari several times, but his first podium appearance this year continues to escape him.
Ferrari has problems, but Charles Leclerc finished five times on the podium. This year, only McLaren drivers have the top three finishes.
This weekend’s Hungarian Ligurampuri should bring Hamilton’s best chance.
Lewis Hamilton
The Hanger Ring is undoubtedly one of the most powerful trucks in Hamilton.
He won eight races and his latest F1 pole was at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Before the spa error-filled weekend, Hamilton looked more comfortable behind the steering wheel of his SF-25.
He outreclied Leclair in three of his past four races heading to Belgium.
Hamilton’s racepace remains a question mark compared to Leclair, but Saturday will become even more important given the difficulties of overtaking.
F1 title battle
The momentum of the 2025 Formula One title race came with another twist after Oscar Piastri returned to his Spa victory.
Randorris had won two previous races, but after stolen the pole from Piastri, it looked likely that he would become a winning hat-trick.
Combined with poor exits from LA sources and battery issues, Norris became vulnerable on the first lap of the race after an 80-minute delay.
With his own approval, Piastri took a “risk” to move Norris forward.
Oscar Plustori
The Australians were usually cool in front of the field, showing impressive tire management, winning this sixth victory of the year.
Piastri returns to his first F1 victory scene.
The Australians led the race but fell behind Norris as they prioritized the latter to avoid McLaren being undercut behind the back.
This led to a notable series of situations where McLaren had to effectively ask Norris to pass the piastry.
Norris will ultimately be obliged – but he was keen to prove the points first, opening a five-second lead to his teammates.
Piastri’s victory this weekend will effectively give him a race victory gap with Norris.
Will Mercedes’ struggle continue?
George Russell called for a crisis meeting at Mercedes following another poor weekend at Belgian Grand Prix.
Russell finished fifth in 35 seconds from race winner Piastri.
The British driver has won one podium in the past seven races. This was a top step appearance at Montreal.
Russell theorizes that the clampdown on the flexi wing introduced for the Spanish Grand Prix had an impact on overall performance.
The Mercedes form slump had a serious impact on Kimi Antonelli.
The Italians seem to have lost confidence and cut down on emotional figures in eligible interviews over Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
The 18-year-old has scored points only once in the past seven races, highlighting both his struggles and general misfortune.
It may be another weekend that you will forget, as you can expect the temperatures you expect in Budapest.
The advancement of horned tuna
Tsunoda’s qualifying performance at the Spa looked like a groundbreaking moment.
The Japanese drivers were just a third of Verstappen, benefiting from a last-minute upgrade ahead of qualifying.
Yuki Tsunoda
Laurent Mekies revealed that Red Bull had previously prioritized Verstappen.
As the RB21 of the Tsunoda approaches the RB21 of Verstappen from an upgrade perspective, it will need to start streaming point finishes earlier later.
In his defense, Red Bull was totally blaming him for calling him into the pit lane while switching to dry tires.
The final round of upgrades?
With the F1 summer shutdown approaching, is it the last weekend when teams introduce major upgrades?
The Constructors Championship is effectively sewn in, so it’s no surprise that Ferrari only prioritizes “small items” or track-specific upgrades for the rest of the campaign.
Totowolf has revealed that Mercedes will switch focus to 2026 after summer vacation ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
While Red Bull continues to bring upgrades to most races, they hope that Verstappen’s title will fade over the weekend, their attention could soon shift completely to 2026.